Iranian warnings against the passage of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) reflect “a broader strategy” in pursuit of additional sanctions relief, Benham Ben Taleblu, a senior analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, wrote in a policy brief on Saturday. The ISA was originally passed in 1996, targeting Iran’s energy sector and expanding U.S. secondary...

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Iran is threatening to retaliate against sanctions legislation that was overwhelmingly passed by the House of Representatives last week, shortly after the Institute for Science and International Security reported that Iran may be in violation of elements of last year’s nuclear agreement. “So far, the current US government has committed several violations...

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The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a ten-year extension of the Iran Sanctions Act by a vote of 419-1 on Tuesday. The bill does not impose new sanctions on Iran, but does extend the life of currently-existing ones that were created in response to Iran’s support for terrorism. It also gives the president the...

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Iran has once again violated the cap on the amount of heavy water, nuclear runoff that can be used to produce weaponizable material, it may possess under the terms of the nuclear deal, Reuters reported on Wednesday. This is the second time since the implementation of the nuclear deal in January that Iran...

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A European plan to allow an Iranian airline sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury to fly commercial routes to European and Asian cities has drawn sharp objections from Washington, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. European officials have pushed back against requests to join the U.S. in blocking Mahan Air’s financial network, a U.S. Treasury official...

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Iran is in the midst of a three-day air war drill using American planes, the Washington Free Beacon reported Tuesday. “The goal of holding this drill is the creation of readiness so as to be able to combat any threat, and should a war occur, the Air Force will be...

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A conglomerate controlled by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is poised to reap huge profits from new oil deals after the country’s petroleum market was opened up in the wake of last year’s nuclear deal, two researchers at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies wrote in a policy brief on Tuesday. Saeed Ghasseminejad and Amir Toumaj...

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The U.S. Treasury Department’s recent decision to loosen banking restrictions on Iran has come under criticism from members of Congress and former Treasury officials, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Last Friday, the Treasury updated its guidelines by loosening restrictions on foreign investments in Iran, including allowing Iran access to American dollars. In another change, the Treasury may choose not...

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Iran’s continued illicit behavior is making European banks and companies wary of doing business with it, even after the end of nuclear-related sanctions, President Barack Obama’s former Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence told The Weekly Standard on Thursday. Stuart Levey, now the chief legal officer of London-based HSBC Holdings, one of the world’s...

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A Washington Post reporter who was imprisoned by Iran for eighteen months filed a federal lawsuit against the country on Monday, saying he was taken hostage and tortured in order to “extort” concessions from the United States. Jason Rezaian, who was arrested in July 22, 2014 and released with four other Americans...

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